“Damn, I’d hate to be moving on Christmas Eve.”
The rig had crud caked to the wheel wells and fenders like it had come a great distance through snow, salt, mud, and ice, which was slowly melting into great clods on the ground around the tires. It was cold as a well digger’s ass in Divine, but wherever that rig had come from it was even colder.
A cold front had blown through the night before and he grimaced at the blast of cold air that hit him in the face as he rolled his window down and pulled up to the drive-thru window. He greeted Cassie when she ran up and opened it, gathering her sweater around her to ward off the chilly temperature.
“Hey, Chris! I just pulled some fresh sausage kolaches from the oven. Want some coffee too?”
Chris grinned at the vivacious woman. “How you doin’, Cass? I’ll take a couple of those kolaches and the biggest cup of coffee you got.”
Cassie set to work putting his order together and called out, “Cream and four sugars, coming up! You all ready for Christmas? Seeing family tomorrow?”
“No, I spent Saturday night at home with them and came back yesterday. Got to see my folks, my brothers and sisters, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles—you name it, I saw it.”
“You’re from Junction, right? That must be nice to have so much family, and for them to be not too far away.”
“Yeah, it’s nice,” he said with a nod as she handed him his order of kolaches in a white paper bag. “But a little loud when we’re all talking, which is all the time. My ears are still ringing.”
“I can imagine. I put an extra kolache in there for you. Merry Christmas.” He began to roll forward as Cassie called out. “Wait, Chris! Don’t forget your coffee.”
Chris stopped the truck with a jolt, and laughed as Cassie leaned out of the window with his big cup of coffee and he met her in the middle. “Merry Christmas to you too, Cass.”
He winked and rolled forward as she blew him a cheeky kiss. He heard a frightened yelp and a soft thump on the hood of the Dodge, and his heart lurched with fear.
Holy shit! Engage brain before accelerator!
He squinted out the windshield and his heart did a double take when he saw the frightened little face peeking out from the fuzzy Elmer Fudd hat that was just inches above the truck hood.
Oh God! Did I hit her?
He shifted into park and sat there, glued to his seat, staring like a dumbass, watching as the fear and pain left her deep blue eyes and was replaced by absolute fury.
She slammed her bare hand down on the hood and began shouting at him. Firing obscenities at him until the air practically turned blue, she was the most stupendously, majestically beautiful angry woman he’d ever seen in his life.
* * * *
“You stupid motherfucker! Don’t you have eyes? Where did you get your driver’s license from? A Cracker Jack box? You could’ve killed me, you big dumbass!” The guy in the black cowboy hat sat there frozen, staring at her for several long seconds, then suddenly he threw open his door. “You need a keeper—or–or—glasses! You blind dumbass mother—”
He climbed down from the truck and the rest of the epithets froze in her throat when he stood to his full height. He was enormous and he stood there staring silently at her, his expression unreadable as he closed the truck door and quickly crossed the distance between them.
She backed up, her heart in her throat and her elbow throbbing. She’d struck it against his grill in a reflexive movement when his vehicle had rolled toward her as she walked out of the coffee shop. He caught her by the upper arms and yanked her toward him as another vehicle pulled around his, the irritated driver tooting his horn and giving them a dirty look.
“Careful,” he murmured in a soft tone.
She jerked her arms loose from his big hands as another vehicle behind his in the drive-thru line honked at his truck, which was blocking the window.
The woman who worked behind the counter called out through the window, “Everything okay, Chris?”
Distracted, he turned his face away so she could see his craggy profile topped by his black felt cowboy hat and called out, “Yeah, I nearly hurt this little lady. I’ll move the truck. Sorry, Cassie!”
Little lady, please!
To her, he said, “I’ll be right back. Where are you parked?” He gently cupped her upper arms again as though he thought she needed steadying. The caring humanity in his touch nearly undid her. She couldn’t have that.
“Don’t bother. I’m fine. Jerk. Just watch where you’re going, damn it.” She tugged her arms from him again and gestured at her truck and horse trailer which looked really sad and dilapidated as the ice thawed and melted off of it, making a mess out of the neat little parking lot. This was the first day of above-freezing temperatures she’d seen since her little journey had begun, but even then it was still frigidly damp. “My vehicle is right there. Just”—she glanced into his deep brown eyes that were ringed with jet-black lashes—“leave me alone. I’ll be fine.” It didn’t help when her voice cracked on the last word.